Leaving It All Behind
by Lux Viridis
Summary: Jinx returns to Jump City after living in Gotham for a few years. Believing that she has left all her troubles behind, Jinx attempts to find her place again in Jump City. However, one just cannot leave her troubles behind. They have a way of catching up to you.
1. A Strong Sense of Familiarity

**Some Important Notes Before You Begin...**

This is my first serious attempt at fanfiction. I have no idea if this will fall flat on its face or actually prove to be fun to write.

While I do proofread all my chapters, there will still be errors. I'm not writing this to get published or for it to be the best piece of fanfiction the world has ever seen. I'm doing this because I thought it would be fun.

This story is rated M for various themes that are explored within the upcoming chapters. There will be scenes of sex, violence and drugs. I will warn readers if such scenes are about to occur.

This story is centered on Jinx/Raven. There will be femslash. Isn't that great?!

If you want to see more of this feel free to leave a review or like this. Whichever way works best for you.

_Warning: Small drug use scene._

Now, let us begin.

* * *

**A Strong Sense of Familiarity **

_"It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us." - Norman Maclean_

The bus had broken down twice since the beginning of their journey, lengthening the time on the road by three hours. The first breakdown happened only an hour in and while the majority of the passengers aboard the cramped bus groaned and complained, Jinx took great pleasure in watching a handful of men try to fix the bus. It provided a small bit of entertainment that was lacking out on the road. There were only so many small towns, farm lands, trees and cars one could stare at before edging on the cusp of insanity.

Insanity.

It was strange how a particular place and a particular time thrust meaning into such a small word that did not exist before.

The second breakdown happened a few hours later which caused the groans and complaints to start again. Jinx took pleasure in the first act: the handful of men searching for the source of the problem. However, that was where her pleasure died and withered into boredom as the acts of the previous breakdown were repeated.

There was nothing more irritating than the crushing blow a rerun delivers to a hopeful spirit. Or, at least, that's what Jinx believed.

The pink haired witch sat in the window seat, second row from the back. Her pink eyes were fixed upon the large tinted window, watching as a few men tried to fix up the bus. Her hair, years ago typically styled into two large pink horns, hung down to her shoulders in a very plain fashion. She wore a simple dark purple hoodie, her hands currently resting in the lower front pocket. Dark blue denim jeans hugged her legs and a pair of simple grey sneakers covered her feet. After Jinx had left Jump City a few years ago she had dumped her costume in favor for everyday street clothes. She already possessed physical features that would always mark her as different for the rest of her life.

Unnaturally bright pink hair.

Pink eyes.

Grey skin.

All of this would keep her at a distance. It would keep her on the outside looking in. A costume only sealed the deal. Only played upon the features that disgusted her.

An older woman with greying hair pulled back into a tight bun with wrinkled skin looked up from her knitting and over at Jinx. The older woman's eyes briefly watched the men fix the bus before returning to Jinx. "I hope they figured out what's wrong with this bus and fix it soon." The words pulled Jinx's attention away from the window and over to the woman who was sitting beside her. She didn't say anything, her pink eyes jumping from the woman's wrinkled face to her knitting.

"You see, I have sons in Jump City," the woman smiled, setting her knitting down in her lap. "Originally they wanted to work in Gotham. It's where they grew up. Unfortunately that didn't happen. They found work in Jump City and eventually they both settled down and started lovely families. I've been waiting years to come and visit them."

Jinx stared at the woman, wondering why she was telling her any of this. She elected only to nod her head in response before turning her attention back to the window.

"So what brings you to Jump City?" the woman asked, her smile still present upon her wrinkled face.

The question forced Jinx to look back over at the woman. She did not want this. She did not ask to be questioned by some random woman. But she _was_ from Gotham. Perhaps she was a bit on the crazy side. If that was true, though, it didn't exactly help matters. Jinx was done with crazy. Finished with insanity. Gotham was behind her. It was all behind her now.

"I'm going home," Jinx finally answered after several awkward moments of silence.

The older woman's navy blue eyes lit up in interest. "Oh? Is it a nice city? I've heard such stories about Jump City. It sounds like a paradise compared to Gotham. Have you seen the Titans? I've heard they're a regular sight around the city."

A small smile formed upon Jinx's face at the mention of the Titans. The memories were coated in haze, but she still remembered. Jinx doubted that she would ever forget the people that had brought about so much frustration, love and pain. "I've seen them a few times. It's because of them that the city is so…nice."

The words scratched the clawed within her. It stung. It was like a million tiny daggers being thrown and hitting every inch of her body. Yet Jinx kept the small smile upon her face. A pleasant small smile.

The older woman nodded and picked her knitting back up. "Well, I'm glad to hear that my sons are raising families in a nice place. Did you enjoy your time in Gotham? I know it's nothing like Jump City but it does have its personality."

Jinx's attention drifted over to the window as the men finished up fixing the bus. "Yup. It was a blast."

* * *

The bus pulled into the Jump City northern bus station early in the evening. The sun was beginning to descend towards the tall skyscrapers. As Jinx climbed down from the bus the sounds and smells of the city bombarded her with a sense of familiarity. No, scratch that. A _strong_ sense of familiarity. At first glance the city she had grown up in looked the same. Hell, even as she stared longer at her surroundings she found that very little had changed. But she hadn't really been expecting any drastic changes…had she? She had known a few things were certain when she chose to leave Gotham and return to Jump City. Jinx knew she would eventually face these certain things in time.

Had change been one of them?

After collecting her bag and hoisting it over her shoulder, Jinx left the bus station and stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. Men and women of all sorts were moving to and fro, each and every one on their individual mission. Cars honked and roared by upon the crowded street. All of it very much the same as when she had left it.

Spotting a nearby bench, Jinx walked over and sat down. She reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a small black cellphone. She flipped it open and punched in one of two numbers she hadn't used in a long time. She pressed the phone to her ear, listening to the rings while watching the familiar sight of Jump City play out before her.

The rings continued on until a robotic female voice picked up. "The number you have reached is currently unavailable. At the tone, please leave your message."

"Hey, Gizmo," the words felt strange coming out of her mouth. It had been a long time since she had seen Gizmo and Mammoth. She had not planned to leave her two best friends the way she did. If she had, had more time she would have planned it all out flawlessly. Instead she had left them both behind along with everything else.

"It's…it's Jinx," she paused for a moment, trying to imagine what Gizmo would have said right then and there if he had picked up his phone. "I know you're probably busy with, uh…with whatever you have going. But I'm in town and I would love to see you. Call me back when you get this message." She flipped the phone shut, her eyes shutting for a moment. She let out a breath before opening her eyes and flipping her cellphone back open. She dialed a second number and pressed the phone to her ear.

Perhaps she would have more luck with Mammoth.

She couldn't have been more wrong. There was no ringing, just a robotic voice informing the pink witch that the number was no longer in service. She flipped her phone shut again, this time slipping it back into her pocket. No answer from Gizmo and nothing from Mammoth.

The brief, loud blaring of a car horn grabbed Jinx's attention. Idling by the curb was a brown Honda with a man in his middle thirties climbing out of the driver side door and waving towards the bus station. The older woman that had been sitting beside Jinx during the ride from Gotham to Jump City waved back and made her way towards the brown Honda with two suitcases in hand. Jinx watched as the woman reached the car and the man came around to embrace his mother in a hug.

When the hug ended Jinx stood up and began walking down the sidewalk, keeping her back to the reunion. She had failed to reach her friends by phone but she still knew of a way to get in contact with them. It just required a bit of a walk.

* * *

The sun had slipped below the horizon and night had settled upon Jump City when Jinx reached the old stomping grounds. After the H.I.V.E Academy was shut down Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth lived in a small apartment together. It became the trio's haven. It was a place for them to relax and plan their next attack against the Titans. It was a place only for them. It hadn't been the most glamorous lifestyle but it had been home for a long time.

And now, standing outside the apartment building, the memories of life within the apartment started coming back to Jinx in a pleasant rush. A rush that brought a smile onto her face at the sight of lights shining out of the third floor window. She was quick to enter the apartment building and climb up the stairs to the third floor. She walked down to the apartment door, yellow light peeking out from underneath.

They were home.

Jinx knocked on the door. She wondered what her two friends looked like now. Had Gizmo grown any taller? Had Mammoth gotten any bigger? What had they done during the time she had been gone? Were they still angry at her for her brief relationship with Kid Flash? She hoped not. That love had been shot dead long ago and it was never coming back.

Finally the door opened with a slight, quiet groan. Jinx grinned, expecting to see Gizmo or Mammoth but found herself staring at a complete stranger. Her grin fell away almost instantly as the stranger, a dark haired man in his late twenties, lifted a brow in question.

"Can I help you?" the stranger asked.

"Uh…" there were no words. And yet now that Jinx was standing there, she suddenly realized what she should had figured out earlier: the possibility that Gizmo and Mammoth no longer lived in the apartment. It had been years since she had seen them. If they had moved on…it would have been out of the apartment. "I'm, uh…I was looking for my friends. They…they used to live here."

"Well they don't anymore," the stranger replied. "Just me and my girl living here."

Jinx nodded. "Right. Well…have a good night."

The stranger retreated into the apartment, pushing the door shut. Jinx turned and retraced her steps that led her out of the apartment building and back out onto the street. Her second attempt to get in contact with her friends had failed. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone, checking for any messages.

None.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, Jinx started down the street. She walked around Jump City for the next hour until she arrived at a small motel. She paid for a room on the second floor. Pushing the motel door shut, Jinx closed her eyes and let out a breath. She was back home but alone. Very much alone. She tossed her bag onto the bed after opening her eyes. She opened up her bag and dug through her belongings before pulling out a small bag of weed and some rolling paper. She sat quietly as she proceeded to roll herself a joint.

She dug through her bag again, pulling out a lighter. Bringing the joint to her lips, Jinx lit it up and proceeded to smoke. Jinx spent the rest of the night losing herself within the smoke and allowing Jump City to fall away into the black abyss.


	2. One Thing in Common

Note:

So I just want to say right now that I don't know how often my updates for this story will be. I'm thinking the likelihood is I'll be updating maybe one or twice a month. It has nothing to do with my interest in my story. In fact, over the past month since I first uploaded this story I've mapped out quite a lot of the plotline and characters I want featured. It mainly comes down to my life. Being a full time student who is approaching graduation and also working part-time/looking to start my career eats up a lot of writing time. I'm also working on a script for class. So I must carefully choose what to devote my time to. So I hope you all will stick with me. This is going to be a long story. But it's also going to be a fun, wild ride!

Thank you for those who reviewed my first chapter! For those wanting Jinx to interact with other known characters you will either be happy with this chapter or not. I dunno. I'm not going to say anything more on that matter in fear of spoiling this chapter. But don't fear! As this story progresses you will see Jinx interact with multiple canon characters.

I hope you guys enjoy this second chapter! I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with it, but I've kept you waiting long enough. If you wish to see more please show the fic some love and leave some reviews!

_Warning: small drug use._

* * *

**One Thing in Common **

"_Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable." – William Shakespeare_

_The one bedroom, ground floor apartment was sparse to say the least. The walls were bare, revealing various scratches and smudges left behind over time. The thin, pale colored carpet lacked any comfort from its years of holding household life upon its back. There was a small kitchen with empty counters and presumably empty cabinets attached to a living space that had one tan colored couch. A rectangular, wooden kitchen table sat exactly in the middle of the space between the kitchen and the living space. Four men were gathered around this table, two of them in chairs while the others stood. _

_ All four of the men turned their attention towards the door where Jinx stood alongside a young man in his early twenties with short auburn colored hair and hazel colored eyes. He was dressed in standard street clothes: a brown jacket with a black tee-shirt underneath, dark blue denim jeans and brown boots. Jinx was dressed in typical street clothes as well: a black coat overtop a dark purple blouse, blue denim jeans and a grey pair of sneakers. Her pink hair hung down towards her shoulders. _

_ The young man placed his hand upon Jinx's shoulder. "Gentleman, allow me to present to you our newest member and the beginning of our chapter!" _

_ Jinx blinked and looked over towards the young man. "Whoa. Hold on a sec. I never said anything about joining. All I said was that I was interested." She moved a little bit to the left, freeing her shoulder from the young man's hand. _

_ The young man smiled, a small chuckle escaping past his lips. "Forgive me, Jinx. Perhaps I got a little ahead of myself. You see, when I woke up this morning I had this…this feeling. I knew something was going to happen today. Something that I've been waiting for, for a long time." _

_ "Otto, listen," Jinx began. "I'm honored that you want me to join your…" she glanced over at the other four men, "…group. But I just got into Gotham three days ago. I…I need time to sort things out. I left Jump City on a bad note and-"_

_ "Which is why you belong right here," Otto cut in. He quickly moved towards the four men gathered around the table while Jinx remained standing near the door. Otto gestured to the four other men. "Everybody in this apartment shares one crucial fact in common. We've all left something behind. Each one of us has a past that we are longing to put behind us and start anew. Together we can face the future as something Gotham has never seen before. But we can't do it alone. We need one more member to make this group complete."_

_ "That member isn't me," Jinx replied. "Look, Otto, I'm…flattered that you think I'd be the perfect fit for your group after only knowing me for less than a day but…I can't. I didn't leave Jump City so I could join another team of villains in Gotham. I came to start over on my own terms."_

_ A blond haired man dressed in a grey business suit let out a laugh from the chair he was partially slumped in. His blue eyes fixed upon Jinx, his lanky build made his partial slump seem out of place. Awkward. Too many thin limbs falling out of the cheap fake wooden chair. "Don't get ahead of yourself. We're not villains. Not even close. You got to be known for something to get that title." _

_ Jinx shook her head. "Whatever. Look, it was nice meeting you guys but I'm heading out. I wish you the best of luck though." As the words slipped out of her mouth Jinx almost wanted to laugh. Luck. That was something she never had. And if she did possess any at this moment in time, she wasn't foolish enough to just hand it over to five guys she hardly knew. They were just empty words to fill the space. _

_ She turned her back on the Otto and the other four men. She was already berating herself for even thinking that coming over here was a good idea. She had met Otto at the market, started talking and somehow believed, in that ridiculous moment, that the man could give her exactly what she was looking for. _

_ She was wrong. There was no surprise. No shock. Hell, as Jinx reached the door she could feel her body numbing. Being wrong was so common. It was etched into her life. Her lifestyle. Her choice of romance. And now…this. _

_ "You're Meta right?" _

_ An unfamiliar voice. Deep. A voice tinted with experience. Jinx looked over her shoulder towards the five men. Her gaze landed on the other man who was seated at the table. He was the tallest of the group with a large build made up mostly of fat. Despite the lack of muscle the dark haired man seemed like a giant in the chair. He looked to be in his early thirties, his brown eyes focused solely upon the pink haired witch. Unlike the blond, he was dressed in normal street clothes. _

_ "What?" _

_ "Meta," the man repeated. "You got powers right? That's why your hair and eyes are pink and your skin is grey." _

_ "Yeah," she paused for a moment. "But I'm not changing my mind."_

_ The large man nodded and looked over at Otto. "Makes sense but I don't think your grand speech won her over." _

_ Otto walked away from the table, approaching Jinx. "I believe that you were meant for us, Jinx. I really do think that you came to Gotham for a reason. I understand why you are hesitant about joining us. That's alright. But why not give us a chance? Give us a chance for us to prove to you that you belong here. That, as a whole, we will achieve the glory we each deserved a _long_ time ago. Give us that chance, Jinx. And then maybe you'll see how bright your future can be."_

Her eyes cracked open, the scent of weed hanging in the air. The once perfectly made bed was now a mess of tangled sheets surrounding the pink haired witch. A single pillow had dropped to the floor during the night and rested beside her sneakers. Her pink eyes stared up at the ceiling, her body feeling just as tired as the night before.

With a turn of her head her gaze rested upon the small black alarm clock, the red numbers reading two in the afternoon. How late had she stayed up? Sitting up, Jinx ran thin gray fingers through her tangled pink hair before crawling across the bed. She reached down and lifted up her bag, setting it down in front of her. Unzipping the bag Jinx ruffled through her things before pulling out six small bags of weed. She counted the bags and then recounted.

And then counted a third time.

She had taken a grand total of ten small bags of weed when she had departed Gotham. And now she was left with six. Jinx tossed the bags back in to her bag with a sigh before crawling back across the bed and reached towards the nightstand where her cell phone rested. A small flare of hope ignited within her as her fingers wrapped around the phone. And just as quickly as the flare ignited, it was snuffed out by the blank cell phone screen.

No missed calls.

No voicemails.

Jinx flipped her cell phone opened and dialed Gizmo's number. She listened to the rings before the robotic female voice from yesterday picked up. Her eyes closed as she listened to the robotic voice repeat what she had told her before. Her eyes reopened at the sound of the beep.

"Hey Gizmo," Jinx began. "It's me again. Jinx. I know you're probably really busy and everything, but I would really like to meet up with you sometime. I mean, it's been five years."

_Every moment of which has been my fault. _

"Well, uh, call me back when you get the chance," Jinx continued with a small shake of her head. "You have my number. Bye."

She flipped her phone shut and sat in the silence of the motel room for a minute before flipping her phone open again and dialing Mammoth's number. No rings. Just another robotic voice informing her that the number was still no longer in service. Her free hand balled into a fist as she snapped her cell phone shut.

"Fuck," the word shot out of her mouth reeking of pathetic anger.

She laid back down upon the bed, her gaze returning to the ceiling. Jinx had hoped to have heard from her friends by now, but all she possessed at this moment was silence. What had Gizmo so busy and where the hell was Mammoth? She allowed those questions to sit within her mind, trying to fruitlessly dig for answers. It was when the anger returned after failing to figure out why she couldn't get in contact with her friends that Jinx sat back up, ruffled through her bag, and pulled back out a single bag of weed.

She rolled the joint.

Lit it up.

Once again Jump City faded away into the abyss and Jinx felt the silence that was beginning to suffocate her, slip away. Her mind, fuzzy with questions she couldn't answer, cleared and the answer to her current problem took shape. A smile eventually appeared upon her face. It appeared so genuine that one would have to look quite closely to see what really rested beneath.

* * *

It took quite a bit of make-up to turn her grey skin into an almost normal shade. Colored contacts turned her pink eyes a dull brown. She decided to leave her hair alone for the most part. She ran a comb through it to untangle the knots, but that was the full extent of it. She selected a dark blue blouse that had a v-neck cut low to show off a good bit of cleavage, black leather pants that hugged her legs and a pair of black high heeled boots.

When she was done she felt nothing like herself.

Jinx could hear the music coming from _The Neon Lounge_ from a block away. The nightclub was one that Jinx had never attended before. She had heard of it in passing from other villains who were older than her, but that was about it. The nightclub had never been anything _but_ a nightclub. It was not a secret place for villains to meet up and plan their next attacks. It had always just been a nightclub.

_The Neon Lounge_ was a large two story brick building with lots of windows reflecting constant changing colors. A large multicolored neon sign hung over the entrance of the club. There was no line to get into the club though that didn't mean the place was empty. In fact, upon entering, Jinx found the place packed with people. It was impossible to move around without bumping into someone or brushing against them.

The nightclub was set up with a large dance floor on the first floor. Parts of the dance floor lit up while multi colored lights hanging from high above constantly rotated. Against the opposite wall was a large DJ booth flanked by two gigantic silver speakers in which the thundering music poured from. A young man stood behind the DJ booth, headphones over his ears, as he danced and swayed to the music. The dance floor itself was jammed, every inch consumed by sweaty, scantily clothed bodies.

The bars were located upon the second floor of the club. The upper floor encircled the dance floor so that those who were sipping away at their drinks could lean against the metal railing and look down at the dancing crowd. There were a multitude of bars located upon the second floor and at one of them sat a familiar sight, hunched over a tall glass of beer.

His red hair was much shorter than she remembered, however his small goatee seemed to remain untouched by time. But that also seemed to be the only feature left untouched. The past five years were written on his aging face. The last time Jinx had seen him he had been wearing his costume. This time he was dressed in a light blue tee-shirt, black jeans, and simple grey boots smudged with dirt.

Jinx didn't expect that _he_ would be the first person she would come across since returning home. In fact, she had never wasted a single thought on him until just now.

"I didn't know that you were the bar type," Jinx approached the bar, standing to his right as her eyes landed upon a bartender busy with one order after another being tossed his way a few chairs down.

His head turned at the sound of her voice, his light green eyes rising upwards. Their gazes met for a split second before Jinx returned her focus to the bartender. She hadn't known that his eyes were green. The time they had spent together in the past, before Kid Flash, had often been spent in costume. He had always had those glasses over his face that concealed his eyes. And now here they were, older, and in much different costumes.

His eyes settled upon her pink hair and the confusion that had appeared before vanished immediately. It didn't matter that the skin color was off, the eyes were wrong and the clothes weren't right. It was her voice and that pink hair. Through the drunken haze that was starting to settle he could see her clearly.

And he remembered.

"And I thought you left a _long_ time ago…Jinx," her name shout from his mouth wrapped in bubbling anger and, ever so carefully, dipped in hurt. His voice had deepened over the years. The teen Jinx had betrayed while with the Titans was gone. The man she knew very little about was what had taken his place.

"I did," she waved her arm, catching the bartender's attention. "And now I'm back."

"You could've taken your time coming back," he retorted.

Jinx took a seat after ordering her drink. She finally looked back over at the man. She watched as he looked away and took a long sip of his beer. "I'm looking for my friends."

He slammed his glass down upon the counter. It was a sound that usually would have caught the attention of everyone nearby. Instead the noise faded almost instantly into the thundering music. "And why the fuck do you think I know anything about where your Titan buddies are?"

His response curled the corners of her lips into a brief smile. Time was having its way with him but his mind remained sealed away. He still believed that after all this time-

The bartender set down her drink and quickly moved to help another customer. Her gaze traveled to her drink as her fingers curled around the cold glass. "That's not what I meant, Kold. I'm looking for my real friends. Gizmo. Mammoth. I haven't been able to reach them."

There was a short pause as Kold stared at the pink haired witch. The last time they had crossed paths she had been with that speedster. She had betrayed his trust and sided with that Titan over him. That little fight had landed him and his sister in jail. That was the last he had seen of her. Since then she had vanished off the face of the earth. He never heard her name mentioned again. Never saw her again on the news fighting with the Titans. It was only after he had been released last year that he learned from Gizmo that she had left town.

"I can't help you," Kold finally replied. "I haven't seen Mammoth in years. The last time I saw Gizmo was last year. We haven't kept in touch."

Jinx took a long sip from her drink. Dead end. This one miracle chance was nothing more than realizing how much things had changed. The two sat in silence for a good while, each of them sipping away at their drinks, submerged in their own thoughts. It wasn't until Jinx had finished her second drink when she looked back over at Kold.

"We had something once," she pushed her empty glass away.

"Yeah?" he shook his head. "Well you fucked it up. You fell in love with that Titan."

"I really loved him, Kold," Jinx continued. "He…he gave me something I never had before."

"And what was that?" he finished off the last of his beer. He gave a short chuckle. "Did he make you feel _good_, Jinx? I made you feel good a few times too. Or have you forgotten?"

A smirk played upon her face. She leaned over towards Kold, her elbow pressed into the counter while her chin rested within her palm. "No. I haven't. You're wrong about _him,_ but I'm a bit done reliving old memories. I've been alone for…a long time. I'm trying to fix that. I know I betrayed you, Kold. I fucked it all up. But I left all that behind. This is the start of something new. Would you like to be part of it?"

Kold's eyes traveled up a down for a brief moment before a small smile appeared upon his face. "Alright."


End file.
